Wings of Change Focus Africa, Article 8 & A Proactive and Productive Response to Sustainability

Welcome back! From 2-4 June we will be in Dubai at the 80th IATA Annual General Meeting (AGM) and World Air Transport Summit, hosted by Emirates . If you're unable to attend, we'll be posting all of the news and announcements across our social channels and, of course, on IATA.org. We'll skip next week's update but will be back the following week with a full AGM recap. Now let's get to it.

A Proactive and Productive Response to Sustainability

Shannon Scott, Emirates’ VP of Sustainability and Environment and Chair of IATA’s Sustainability and Environment Advisory Council (SEAC) talks about the multitude of initiatives designed to limit aviation's environmental impact.

SEAC advises the IATA Board of Governors on sustainability matters and there is a lot on the agenda. The scaling up of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) production is one of our main concerns. SEAC is reviewing emerging policies—which are numerous—and examining the potential for new SAF pathways.

Read the full interview in Airlines magazine.

Wings of Change Focus Africa to Address Resilience and Sustainability

The Wings of Change Focus Africa Conference (WOCFA) will return for its second edition under the theme "Towards a More Resilient and Sustainable African Aviation".

WOCFA is taking place in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 2-3 July 2024 with South African Airways as the host airline.

Kamil Alawadhi, IATA’s Regional Vice-President for Africa and the Middle East:

"Africa's aviation market holds immense untapped potential, with expectations for traffic to double in the next 15 years."

WOCFA will delve into priorities?under IATA’s Focus Africa initiative to strengthen aviation’s contribution to the continent’s economic and social development, along with improving connectivity, safety and reliability for passengers and shippers.

Learn more about WOCFA and register now.

News in Brief

? IATA opposes Article 8 changes

? DB Schenker Americas achieves IATA Lithium Battery Transport Certification

? Non-CO2 emissions explained

?Searching for sustainable solutions in long haul: An interview with Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airlines

Chart of the Week: Lack of Harmonized Rules Hampers Plastic Replacement

Plastic pollution is a key challenge of our times.

According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 430 million metric tons of plastic is produced each year, with over one-third being discarded after only one use.

To address this challenge, regulators in more than 90 countries are implementing local, regional, or national restrictions on the manufacture, import, and distribution of single-use plastic products (SUPP).

However, the resulting patchwork of regulation is neither consistent nor comprehensive.

Current regulations do not agree on the definition of SUPP, nor is there a common framework to identify acceptable substitutes and alternatives.

Fragmented SUPP regulations can result in different products having to be introduced on separate legs of a journey, confusing passengers and crew, increasing compliance costs, and generating more waste.

Airlines have taken a proactive approach, demonstrating that the sector is keen to replace SUPP and to make a more positive contribution to the circular economy, but meaningful change cannot be achieved without due recognition of the complexities in the airline industry’s value chain.

Learn more about the #WeeklyChart and how the lack of harmonized rules is hampering plastic replacement.

Congratulations Nok Air on Joining IATA's Airline Membership!

With a fleet of 14 Boeing 737-800 aircraft, Nok Air operates an extensive domestic network covering 23 routes within Thailand.

Since 2007, Nok Air has also operated international routes, which currently includes destinations within China and India with additional routes to Singapore and Chinese Taipei planned soon.

Thanks for reading! Safe travels and please consider sharing this newsletter.